Darren Aronofsky is one of the most unique filmmakers working today. None of his films are alike and whether the material be melodrama (BLACK SWAN), Biblical epic (NOAH), or fantastical drama (THE FOUNTAIN), he always finds a way to innovate the medium of film. With multiple projects in development, including the HBO series MADDADDAM, the question still remains as to what his seventh directorial effort will be.
The Tracking Board has posted their full 2014 Hit List which mentions the film AETHER from screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Below that, almost as a footnote, is mention that Wilson-Cairns is currently adapting the book THE GOOD NURSE for Lionsgate. It also stated Darren Aronofsky is currently attached to direct. Here’s the synopsis for THE GOOD NURSE.
After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed “The Angel of Death” by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a favorite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. Cullen’s murderous career in the world’s most trusted profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. When, in March of 2006, Charles Cullen was marched from his final sentencing in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, courthouse into a waiting police van, it seemed certain that the chilling secrets of his life, career, and capture would disappear with him. Now, in a riveting piece of investigative journalism nearly ten years in the making, journalist Charles Graeber presents the whole story for the first time. Based on hundreds of pages of previously unseen police records, interviews, wire-tap recordings and videotapes, as well as exclusive jailhouse conversations with Cullen himself and the confidential informant who helped bring him down, THE GOOD NURSE weaves an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship, and betrayal.
Aronofsky had a hell of time working on NOAH due to studio interference, but Lionsgate is a much smaller company and likely to give him the artistic freedom he needs to turn THE GOOD NURSE into something quite thrilling. On the bat, this sounds like it could be the director’s equivalent to David Fincher‘s ZODIAC or at least something as enthralling to watch. I would love to see Aronofsky’s visual style applied to a horrific tale like this.
Keep in mind that Aronofsky attached this early could lead him to leaving the project or just producing, but it sounds like a great fit for a smaller film after the massive NOAH. With the director working on MADDADDAM in 2015, we may not know more about THE GOOD NURSE for some time. Stay tuned.